How to Properly Clean a Baking Sheet

How to Properly Clean a Baking Sheet

In the Bob's Red Mill kitchen, we are constantly using baking pans and cookie sheets to whip up sweet and delicious baked goods. And if you love cooking as much as we do, then the chances are your baking sheets get quite a bit of use. While there are several ways to protect your baking sheets from the recipes you're cooking on them, even the most mindful cook can't prevent the occasional messes, burn, or splatter. Over time these baking mayhems build up and cause your cookie sheets to look messy and overused. If you're wondering if it's time to toss your baking pan and replace it with a new one, we encourage you to give it a good clean first. More often than not, your baking sheet just needs a little TLC to look great again. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to clean a baking sheet properly. We're confident that by following these steps, your pan will be shiny and mess-free in no time.

How to Clean Baking Sheets: Five Different Ways

hand washing baaking dish Eager to have all of your baking tray or sheets look polished and new again? We're here to help. Whether you're cleaning out your kitchen or sprucing things up around the house, these five ways to clean baking sheets will leave your kitchen tools looking better than ever.

Clean a Baking Sheet with Baking Soda

For an easy, no-scrub solution to cleaning your favorite baking sheet, try baking soda. One of the easiest and most cost-efficient ways to clean your kitchen tools, baking soda works exceptionally well against grease and grime. To clean your cookie sheets, start by pouring boiling water and a few spoonfuls of baking soda onto the sheet. If you notice the solution bubbling, that's a great sign. The baking soda is breaking through the tough cooked-in splatters and helping to peel them away from your dirty sheet pan. Once the baking soda mixture stops bubbling, let the baking sheet sit for about an hour before wiping away the stains with a cloth. If you notice that there is still a bit of leftover food on the sheet pan, wash it as you usually would with a sponge and dish soap. The excess mess should wipe off quickly, leaving your baking sheet looking as good as new!

For Cookie Sheets with Burned-on Messes:

If your cookie sheet has a few burned-on messes, they may be a little harder to get off, but not impossible. Stains that have burnt into place can still be removed with baking soda and a little extra work. Instead of only applying baking soda and water for burned food, we recommend mixing one tablespoon of baking soda, a couple of drops of dish soap and hot water. Apply this mixture to your pan and let it sit for at least an hour. For stubborn stains, you'll want to leave the mixture on overnight. After the cookie sheet has finished soaking, the strains should wipe away easily. If you're working with a non-stick baking sheet, avoid using too harsh of a sponge, as it can remove the non-stick coating and dull the sheet.

Clean a Baking Sheet with Baking Soda and Vinegar

An extra tricky mess calls for more than baking soda and a little dish soap. To tackle tough stains, swap the dish soap with vinegar. Baking soda will help lift the tough stains off of the sheet, and vinegar's acidity will work to break through them. To clean your cookie sheets with these everyday kitchen items, start by filling your sink with hot water. Once you have enough water to submerge your sheet fully, add in equal parts of baking soda and vinegar. Place the cookie sheet in the sink and allow it to soak in the water for about an hour. After the hour is up, use the tough side of your sponge to scrub off any leftover food. After all of the stains have been removed, wash the baking sheet as you typically would with water and dish soap and dry.

For Nonstick Pans:

Nonstick pans require a bit of extra care. When cleaning a non-stick baking sheet, avoid using anything abrasive (including the rough side of a kitchen sponge). To protect the coating of the nonstick cookie sheet or baking pan, follow the steps above and use a soft kitchen brush or rag to loosen up cooked-on messes. The baking soda and vinegar mixture will make it easy to wash away leftover food. Happy grandmother and her teenage granddaughter removing Christmas cookies from the oven

Clean a Baking Sheet with Hydrogen Peroxide

If you thought hydrogen peroxide was merely for the medicine cabinet, think again. Hydrogen peroxide has many uses, one of which being to clean kitchen tools. If you are confronted with hard-to-clean messes regularly, we recommend keeping a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the kitchen. Ideal for cleaning cookie sheets, when mixed with baking soda, hydrogen peroxide will leave your baking tools looking better than ever. To clean your cookie sheets with hydrogen peroxide, start by covering your pan with a light layer of baking soda, pour hydrogen peroxide over it and follow with a second layer of baking soda. Let the mixture sit on your pan for about two hours before wiping it off with a sponge. Stains should now be easy to remove and wash away. If you notice that your pan still has a couple of tough stains left on it, repeat the process and clean with water and dish soap. Because hydrogen peroxide is not a food-grade product, it's crucial that you thoroughly wash your pan after using this cleaning method. If you're working with colorful baking sheets, we recommend testing the hydrogen peroxide in a covered spot to ensure that it does not lift the color.

Clean a Baking Sheet with a Scouring Pad

Ready to get down and dirty? If you have tough-to-clean baking sheets and need to call for backup, roll up your sleeves and reach for a scouring pad. Ideal for cleaning off burnt-on messes, scouring pads can be used on everything from stove burners to cookie sheets. When combined with a bit of hand scrubbing and soap, they'll easily lift the stubborn stains off of your baking sheets in just minutes. If you're working with delicate or non-stick baking sheets, be sure to check that the scouring pad is safe to use on these kitchen tools. While many scouring pads are made with non-abrasive materials, others are specifically designed to be coarse enough to remove tough stains and will scratch and penetrate the surface of stainless steel and nonstick cookware. One example of this is steel wool.

Clean a Baking Sheet with a Self Cleaning Oven

Does your oven have a self-cleaning cycle? If so, then you're in luck. If you've tried just about everything to remove pesky stains from your cookie sheets with no luck, place your sheets in the oven and turn on the self-cleaning cycle. Self-cleaning ovens use extremely high heat to burn off spills that are leftover from bakingand they do this without using any chemicals! When using a self-cleaning oven, be sure to read and follow the manufacturer's instructions and keep the oven door locked throughout the entire process. Once the self-cleaning cycle is complete and your cookie sheets have thoroughly cooled, remove them from the oven and wash them before putting them away. If you notice the stains are still there when removing your sheet pans from the oven, then it may be time to invest in new baking sheets. Cooking in the kitchen is always a fun experience. But when you're left with baking sheets that don't look or cook great, baking your favorite recipes can be quite a challenge. Learning how to clean a cookie sheet properly is an excellent skill. By using the five methods above, you can ensure that your kitchen tools work as intended and look great while doing so. While cleaning your baking sheets may take some time, the outcome is well worth it. Plus, if you're successful, you won't have to purchase new ones and you'll save some money in the process. If you have multiple baking sheets that need some TLC, we recommend cleaning them in batches. Make it an effort to clean your kitchen tools a few times a year. We're confident it will make your baking experience more enjoyable! Are you searching for some cleansing foods to go along with your clean baking sheets? Check out this article about Cleansing Foods That Help Detox the Body. If you have a unique method you use to clean your baking sheets, we'd love to hear about it. Let us know how you keep your baking and cookie sheets looking brand new in the comments below. From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, we hope your day is filled with great-tasting food and baked goods!
Bob's Red Mill
June 26 2021

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